Headlight-operating device.



No.84'7,918. 'PATENTED MAR. 19, 1907.

w. H. DONALDSON. HEADLIGHT OPERATING 11mm.-

APPLICATION FILED JAN. 10. 1m

izzzZflsam,

I n vento r.

Atton evs' Witnesses PATBNTED MAR. 19, 1907.

W. H. DONALDSON. HEADLIGHT OPERATING DEVICE.

APPLICATION FILED JAN. 10.1906.

2 SHEETS-SHEET 2.

.nventor,

Attorneys 1 which will 20 part of this specification, and

within the scope of the In the drawings, Figure 1 is a front eleva-- UNITED sTArns ATENT orrron.

Specification of Letters Patent.

Patented March 19, 1 907.

Application filed January 10,1906.- Serial No. 295,446.

'To all wliom, it may concern: 3

Be it known that I, WILLIAM H. DONALD- SON, a citizen of the United States, residing at Joliet, in the county of Will and State of Illinois, have invented a new and useful Headlight-Operating Device, of which the following is a specification.

his invention relates to automobiles and similar vehicles, and has for its object to prore duce a simply-constructed attachment whereby the headlights may be caused to follow the line of movement of the vehicle in all the changes of direction which it may pursue.

, With these and other objects in view,

appear as the nature of the invention is better understood, the invention consists in certain novel features of construction, as hereafter fully described and claimed.

- In the accompanying drawings, forming a in which corresponding parts are denoted b like designat ing characters, is illustrated the preferred form of the embodiment of the invention capable of carrying the same into practical z 5 operation, it being understood that various changes in-the form, proportions, and minor details of construction may be resorted to without departing from the principle or sa'crificm any of the advantages of this invention appended claims.

tion of a portion of an automobile of conventional form. with the improvements applied. Fig. 2 is a plan,view in-fsection on the line 2 2 Z 5 5 of F 1 with the body of the vehicle in dotted hnes. 1 Fig. 3 is a side elevation of the parts shown in Fig. 1.- Fig. 4 is aview simiar to Fig. 2, illustrating the ap lication of the improvement to a slightly-different arrangeo ment of the steeringear. Fig. 5 is an en- I larged sectional detai illustrating the conistrf ction and operation of the'coupling mechanism' between the lamp-operating means and the steering means. Fig. 6 is a 45 detail illustrating a modified construction of a portion of the steering. means- I The nnproved device may be readily adapted'without material modifications-to all the various forms of automobiles manufactured 5c and to the lamps of such vehicles wherever 'located'there'on. In some forms of such vehicles the'lamps are located'upon the front 'of the forward hood portion, sometimes at the rear of the hood portion, sometimes upon the supporting-frame, and at other points; but for the purpose of illustration the lamps in the drawings are shown at the rear end of the forward hood portion', a common practice in automobile construction.

The body of the automobile is represented at 10, the forward hood or covering for the motive power and other parts at 11, the forward axle at 12, the forward Wheels at 13 14, coupled to the axle in the usual manner by the swivel-joints 15 16, the latter having the ateral arms 17 18 coupled by the rod 19 and an arm 20, carrying the steering-rod 21, the mechanism for operating the same not being illustrated, as it forms no part of the present invention. he lamps (represented at 22 23) are mounted to rotate in spaced brackets 24, 25, 26, and 27 by rods 28 29, dependin the lamps and provided with cable-sh A eaves 30 31 at their lower ends;

Bearing u on the coupling-rod 19 is a plate 32, attache to the rod, as by clips'33, and with a standard 34 rising therefrom. Detachab'ly connected to standard 34 is an arm 35, extending laterally from the same. -A cable 36 extends around the-sheaves 30 31 and is connected at the ends to spring-s37 38, w 'ch are in turn connected to the free end of the arm 35.

The upper end of the standard .isformed into a square terminal stud, as at 39, or of other irregular form to enter a correspondthe upper end of the 'ingly-sha-ped aperture in the arm 35, so that i the latter will not rotate upon the standard, and the standard is spring-catch, as at 40 arm yieldably connected to the standard;

he arm is thus easily attached to or detached from theistandard when. required, and a hook 41 is attached to the arm 35 when released-as, for instance, in

the day-time, when the lamps are not in use 1 IOC and do'not require to be moved.

In some classes of automobiles thexc'onnecting-rod 19 is disposed forward axle, as in Figs. 1, others the rod is forward of the axle, as in alsov provided with a in Fig. 5, to hold the -9s under sidev of the body 10 to receive and support the rearwardly ofthe. I 2, and 3, whilewin;

Fig. 4, and the only change required in the arrangement of the parts to adapt the im proved device. to either form of construction is to lead the cable 36 to the opposite sides of the sheaves, as shown. By. this simple arrangement it will be obvious that when the vehicle is moving in a straight line, as in Figs. 1, 2, 3, and 4, the lamps will be held parallel to the line of movement or in position to throw the light straight ahead.

If the vehicle is turned to either side, as when moving on curves or when turning corners or turning the vehicle around, the lamps will be partly rotated, corresponding to the lateral movement of the wheels, and cause the rays of light from the lamps to follow the path over which the vehicle is about to move, and thus constantly illuminate the path ahead of the vehicle.

The device thus operates automatically and without the necessity for the attention of the operator to manipulate the lamps.

The device is simple in construction, can be inexpensively manufactured, and applied to the automobile without change in the structure of any of the parts.

If preferred, one spring only may be em- I ployed between the arm and the cable 36 as shown in Fig. 6.

It will be observed that a feature of great importance in my invention lies in the fact that the attach'nient may be applied without change in the construction of the vehicle or the attachment to the various types of steering apparatus now in use. Where the lamps are in rear of the front axle and the cross-bar of the steering-gear is in front of the axle, as shown in Fig. 4, the operating cable or chain is arranged in a simple triangular .form, the

main part of the cable being extended across under the vehicle and the two end portions extended forwardly and nwardly to the part which connects them to the 0st,. While in the ty eof steerin -gearin.whic the connectingro is behind. t 'e axle, as in Figs. 2, and 3, the end portions of the cable are carried rearw'al'dly around the pulleys, so that when they are extended forwardly and inwardly to, the connection 35 both these end portions will cross themain art of the cable, so that the headlights wille shifted in the opposite direction from the movement of the connecting-bar. Of course where the lamps are in front of the axle the arrangement of the ca; ble will be reversed in order that in one case the lamps will be turned in the same direction as the rod is moved and in the other case int eopposite direction from the move ment oft econnectih'g-bar.

6e, "Itwill be observed also that a feature of 'importancelies in the fact that my construe.

' tion permits ready disconnection of the opsemis parts he may do so instantly and without the use of tools and may at the same time lock the lamps in their normal straight-ahead position.

Having thus described the invention, what i ated with said body including arod extendin between the steering-arms of the forward axIe, a standard extending fro said rod and having an irre ular terminal stud provided with a longitu inal recess, a' yieldingcatch connected to the said stud within said rccess, an arm having a socket for receiving said stud andbearing beneath said catch, lamps movably connected to said body, and connecting means between said lamps and arm.

a 2,. In combination with a vehicle provided with a steering-gear which embodies a trans-. verse connecting-rod, a )air'of vertical shafts journaled at the sides o the vehicle and each carrying a headlight at its upper end and a ulley at its lower end, the pul eysbeing belbw the bottom of the vehicle, a post supported on and detachably attached to said cross-rod about midway its length, a rearwardly-extending arm dctachably connected to said post, a hook depending from the bottom of the vehicle and adaptedto receive and hold said arm when the same is detached from the post, anda cable extending across under the vehicle and passing around. the pulleys and having its end portions extending inwardly and attached to said arm, for the purposes herein set forth.

, 3. In combination with a vehicle provided with a front-wheel steering-gear embodyin a transverse connecting-rod,'a vertical sha t at each side of the vehicle carrying a headlight and a pulley, the pulley being on the loweriend of; the shaft, apost attached to the connecting-rod about mldway its length and rising to a point about level with the pulleys,

a cable extending across under the vehicle and passing freely around both pulleys and extending from the pulleys inwardly, and means connecting the'in'ner ends of said cable to the top of the aforesaid ost.

4. In combination with a ve fcle provided with a stee'ring gear embodying an end- Wisely-shiftable transverse rod, 9. vertical shaft at each side of the vehicle carrying a headlight and a sheave or pulley, a cable ex tending transverselyof the vehicle andcarloo IIO

ried around both of said pulleys and extend- In testimony that I claim the foregoing as ing inwardly toward said connecting-rod, my own I have hereto affixed my signature in means detachably connecting the inner ends the presence of two witnesses.

0f the cable to said connecting-rod, and a det WILLIAM H. DON ALDSON vice on the vehicle for locking the cable Witnesses:

against movement when it is detached from JOHN T. WHITE,

the steering-gear. HOMER R. CLARK. 

